N002057
Saturday, January 19, 2002 4:09 PM
Comments on Interim Rule From Family of :
Killed 9-11-01
January 19, 2002
From:
Husband of - Killed Sept 11, 2001 at the Pentagon
Springfield, Virginia
To:
Mr. Kenneth Feinberg, Special Master of the September 11th Victim
Compensation Fund of 2001
In Care Of Mr. Kenneth L. Zwick, Director
Office of Management Programs
Civil Division
U.S. Department of Justice
Main Building, Room 3140
950 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20530
Fax: 301-519-5956
Re: The Interim Final Rule of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of
2001
Dear Mr. Feinberg,
I am writing to ask for your help to correct the inequities contained in
the Department of Justice's interim final rule for the September 11th Victim
Compensation Fund of 2001. The pain my family has experienced in this
tragedy is difficult to communicate. The loss of my wife is
devastating. I would exchange all compensation to bring my wife back. The
interim final rule increases the already intense pain to an even higher
level. I ask you to help bring some fairness and balance to our lives.
Please give us a reason to participate in the Fund. Please adjust the
interim final rule to provide economic and noneconomic amounts at fair,
balanced and acceptable levels. Please establish a fair appeal process.
Please preserve worker's compensation payments for surviving victims.
Finally, please include the specific calculation formulas, statistics and
assumptions within the rule or the explanatory materials.
The Interim Final Rule provides little incentive to participate in the Fund
because it seriously understates our losses and undervalues the compensation
for those losses. Consequently, the Interim Final Rule will defeat the
intent of Public Law 107-42.
When Congress passed the Air Transportation Safety And System Stabilization
Act on September 22, 2001, it severely restricted our right to sue the
airlines, which bear responsibility for our loved one's deaths because of
lax security procedures. In exchange for denying Family Members this right,
they provided the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. The Fund
is supposed to compensate the victims' families for the types of losses that
would have been recoverable in a lawsuit. This includes economic losses,
such as lost income, and non-economic losses.
Non economic losses described in the law are very broad and inclusive. They
are described as losses for: physical and emotional pain, suffering,
inconvenience, physical impairment, mental anguish, disfigurement, loss of
enjoyment of life, loss of society and companionship, loss of consortium,
hedonic damages, injury to reputation, and all other nonpecuniary losses of
any kind or nature. The Interim Rule/Regulation also describes the
intention of the law:
- The Fund is designed to provide a no-fault alternative to tort litigation
for individuals who were physically injured or killed as a result of the
aircraft hijackings and crashes on September 11, 2001" {Interim
Rule/Regulation, Summary Paragraph A.1.}.
- The attached regulations have two objectives: (1) To provide fair,
predictable and consistent compensation to the victims of September 11 and
their families throughout the life of the program; and (2) to do so in an
expedited, efficient manner without unnecessary bureaucracy and needless
demands on the victims." {Interim Rule/Regulation, Supplementary
Information.}.
The Interim Final Rule issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) falls far
short of these stated goals and does not comply with the statute passed by
Congress:
a) Under the Interim Final Rule, noneconomic losses are limited to $250,000
for my wife and $50,000 for my daughter and myself. My family would receive
only one-tenth the amount of noneconomic losses recovered in other air crash
and terrorism cases, which commonly result in awards well into the
seven-figure range.
b) The Interim Final Rule understates economic losses: It underestimates
the lifetime earning potential of victims at all income levels. Independent
economists have shown the interim final rule uses outdated and inapplicable
work-life and life-cycle earnings data from tables including the 1979 to
1980 Department of Labor's Bulletin 2254. This seriously underestimates
promotions, work-life and pay increases and consequently provides low
estimates of my wife's future earnings. In addition, the Interim Final Rule
does not allow for the recovery of lost household services, which for
working women with children would range to $430,000. Finally, it caps the
salaries of high-income victims.
Because the initial award amounts are so low, many families will receive
little compensation from the Fund after the collateral payment deductions
have been subtracted. The law requires the subtraction of earned pension
funds and personal life insurance payments before a payment from the Victim
Compensation Fund can be made. The initial low award amounts combined with
collateral payment deductions will create a situation where there is little
reason to participate.
To compound the unfairness, my family would have little real opportunity to
appeal the determination of the Fund Master. A family's award may be
increased above the "presumptive" award only by showing "extraordinary
circumstances" beyond those suffered by other victims or victims' families.
This makes the hearing or appeal to the Special Master extremely arbitrary,
unclear and unfair.
In addition the proposed compensation to the spouses, children and other
innocent victims of the attacks is out of balance when compared to the
generous compensation to the airlines. Not only did the law cap the
airlines' liability at the limits of their insurance (which saves the
airlines billions of dollars), but it also provides for direct cash payments
and loan guarantees to the airlines totaling $15 billion. The underpayments
to the spouses, children and other loved ones suffering from this attack
will shift the cost of these airline subsidies and liability limits to the
innocent victims of the attacks.
Please correct the inequity. Please give us a reason to participate in the
Fund. Please adjust the interim final rule to provide economic and
noneconomic amounts at fair, balanced and acceptable levels. Please
establish a fair appeal process. Please preserve worker's compensation
payments for surviving victims. Finally, please include the specific
calculation formulas, statistics and assumptions within the rule or the
explanatory materials.
Sincerely,
Individual Comment
Husband of - Killed Sept 11, 2001 at the Pentagon
Springfield, VA